Powder insufflator



Aug. 11, 1936;

c. E. ZIEGLER POWDER INSUFFLATOR Filed July 11, 1935 INVENTOR WW. 1%. M,

Patented Aug. 11 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application July 11, 1935, Serial N; 30,826

8 Claims.

This inventionrelates: to powder insufflators, and more particularly to: devices for treating. the vagina-with dry powder; 7

In some-instances, for example in treatment of .5 trichomonas -vaginitis, it is desirable to deposit dry medicinal powder adequately over the walls of the vagina, tocover the entire vaginal mucosa. Diffusion of'dry power'uniformly throughout the vagina isdifficult to accomplish, however, and the 10-" powder insufllators, orv blowers, known heretofore havenot been satisfactory for this purpose. Due to the vaginal canal being obliterated by the infolding and. approximation. of its walls, simply blowing powder through a-tube into the vagina 15" will not coat the walls properly unless they are separated in some manner; The walls may be separated by a wire speculum, but this is uncomfortable. to the patient, and since the introitus is open. much ofthe powder escapes from the 201 vagina. Although the vagina can be distended by air forcedinto it by a powder insufilator, provided the introitus is closed to prevent its escape, the air pressure that must be built up within the vagina to. establish and maintain the distention 25- forms a back pressurethat substantially prevents powder from. being. blown into the vagina.

Ifmechanical means is not used to separate the vaginal walls, and if the introitus is not closed, each compression of the ordinary insufflator bulb deposits powder about the end of the outlet tube with little, if any,,separation of the vaginal walls because the:air.that carries the powder in immediately escapesfrom; the vagina around the tube without spreading the walls an appreciable amount. By usinga. long tube andshiftingit to a new position before each. compression of the bulb, greater distribution of the powder may be obtained, but thisis tedious. and itisnot satis- ..iactcry because complete anduniform distribution. or. the medicinal, powder throughout the canal is .virtually impossible.

A: further difiiculty, experienced in using prior.

types ofinsufliators is. that theblastsof air from the. rubber. bulb tend to. cut-a channel through the powder fromtthe bulb towtheoutlet tube. As soomas this channelr has been formed, powder is n'odonger disposedinthe direct path of the air blasts; but. becomes-packed against the wall of ;the2chamber. Consequently, less-and'less powder is carried through the tube by'theair. The channel may;be closed by-tapping1the receptacle, but thisdscumbersome and slow, and even so the successive; charges of rpowder blown: into the.

6b? vagina:are nntJuniform; which they shouldzbeif the powder is to be uniformly distributed throughout the-vagina.

It is among the objects of this invention to providea vaginal powder insufilator that is comfortable to the patient, that uniformly distributes 5 powder throughout the vagina, that is efiicient in operation, and that is easy to clean and sterilize. A further object is to provide such an insufilator which mechanically distends the vagina, provides for the escape of air from the vagina 10 withoutthe 'escapeof powder, avoids channelling of the charge, and which rapidly deposits a full dose of powder over the-vaginal mucosa.

The insufiiator provided by this invention .comprises a powderreservoir having associated, suitably at one end, a source of air pressure, such as a compressible aspirator bulb, and having an outlet opening. at the opposite end. A piston member is slidably disposed in the reservoir to bear against thepowder under theinfluence. of the air pressure, and air passages are provided between the pistOn and reservoir wall to permit air to pass the piston and blow powder from in front of the piston through the outlet opening. Attached to the outlet opening ofthe reservoir is a powderconveying tube disposed within a larger, outer tube, and'at the extendedends of the tubes there is positioned a distending member adapted to hold the vaginal walls apart directly in front of the tube outlet, to provide foraccess of powder to the walls; The outer tube'is'provided at its extended end witl'rminute openings and toward its rear end" (adjacent the reservoir) with an opening to the atmosphere; whereby air blown into the-vagina may escape through the annular passage between thetubes so that back pressure cannot build up in the vagina and interfere-with the introduction of powder;

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a: perspective view 40 of thepreferredembodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 a longitudinal section through the insufiiator; and Figs. 3 and 4' cross-sectional views takenon line IIIIII and Iv -IV, respectively, I Fig. 2.

Referringnow 'to' thedrawing, a body member I is provided with a. relatively large-cylindrical powderLreceiv-ing bore 2'; which. extends into it from theb'ack. The outer endof the body memher is threadedfor'the reception: of a threaded cap 3 between which and the end of member I a gasket 4 iscompressed'. The cap and gasket are provided. with an inwardly tapered axial inlet opening 6rfor receiving the tip 8 of an aspirating bulb: 1.. The opposite-end of the body'55.

member is provided with an axial outlet opening 9 in which one end of a powder and air outlet tube II is threaded.

Channeling, as previously encountered in powder blowers, is obviated by a floating piston l2 which is slidably disposed in chamber 2 to act as a movable back wall pressing against powder contained in reservoir 2. Mere piston pressure does not suffice to expel the powder and distribute it over the vaginal mucosa; it is necessary to move the powder in a current of air. Accordingly, air passages of restricted size are provided between the piston and the reservoir wall to permit air to escape while keeping the powder compacted under piston pressure. In the embodiment shown this is accomplished by providing the periphery of the piston with a plurality of very small longitudinal grooves 53 that form air passages (Fig. 4) If desired, the grooves can be formed in the wall of the chamber instead of in the piston.

With this construction, air from bulb I can not pass in a single stream directly through the center of powder in chamber 2 and thereby establish a channel, because the air stream from nozzle 8 is intercepted by the piston and can not pass it except through grooves 13 at its periphery. This results in several very small streams of air entering the powder-receiving portion of the chamber from several circumferentially spaced positions about the wall of the chamber behind the powder. In addition, as the supply of powder in the chamber is reduced upon each compression of the bulb, the piston is moved forward by the air pressure behind it to keep the remaining powder compacted behind the outlet opening, so that all of the streams of air must pass through the body of the powder and carry away the same amount of powder each time the bulb is compressed.

Another feature of this invention is the provision of means, independent of air pressure, for distending the vagina so that powder can properly be applied to the walls thereof. Accordingly, the outlet end of tube H is provided with a cage-like distending member l4, advantageously removably connected to the tube, that spreads the walls of the vagina apart while powder is being blown into the vagina to coat them. This distender comprises a base member l6 to which a plurality of forwardly extending rigid wires I? are connected at circumferentially spaced intervals. These wires are all bent adjacent the base member to cause the major portion of each wire to extend forward from the tube, and their front ends are connected to a wire ring 98. Such a distender spreads the vaginal walls sufficiently to expose several square inches of surface to the incoming powder, and does not itself interfere to a material extent with the application of powder, especially because ring 18 leaves the end of the distender open for egress of powder. This distender spreads the walls mechanically without the aid of air from a the insufilator.

For an insuifiator to function properly it is necessary to close the introitus, otherwise the powder might escape freely without depositing on the vaginal walls, and also it is necessary to prevent building up of air pressure in the vagina, which would resist the entrance of powder into it. To these ends a tubular member 2| of a diameter adapted to close the introitus is provided which annularly encloses outlet tube l I. Its rearmost end engages a reduced portion 22 on body I,

and it is held in rigid position by engagement with base member l6, as seen in Fig. 2.

To permit air to escape from the vagina member I6 is provided with one or more small openings l9 opening into tubular member 2!, and the latter member is provided adjacent its rear end with an opening 24. Thus air escapes from the vagina through openings i9 into the annular passage between tubes H and 2!, and is exhausted to the atmosphere through opening 25.

With a powder insufilator constructed in accordance with this invention a charge of, for example, grains of medicinal powder can be distributed uniformly over the entire wall of the vagina by about six compressions of the bulb. That is, the distender is successively placed in about six diiferent positions in the vagina in order to spread and expose all portions of the walls to the powder, and a single compression of the bulb for each new position is sufiicient. This results from the cooperation of piston I 2 and reservoir 2, the piston keeping the powder packed in the path of the several streams of air converging from the periphery of the piston, whereby a full charge of powder is carried into the vagina by each blast of air from the bulb. After each compression of the bulb a pause of a few seconds allows the powder to settle on the vagina walls and the air to filter through the openings in the collar and escape through outlet 24 in the rear end of the barrel. The capacities of the bulb and powder chamber and the size of outlet opening 9 determine the amount of powder delivered into the vagina for each full compression of the bulb.

This insufilator is also adapted for easy cleaning and sterilizing. That is, after use the tip of the bulb can be pulled out of the receptacle cap, the cap and piston removed from body member i, and the distender cage unscrewed from the end of the outlet tub-e whereby barrel 2| can likewise be removed, and the outlet tube unscrewed from the body member. The various individual parts can then be thoroughly cleaned and sterilized in the usual way.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the construction and mode of operation of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. A vaginal powder insufllator comprising a powder reservoir member having associated at one end a source of air pressure and at the other end a forwardly projecting outlet tube, and a floating piston member slidably disposed in said reservoir and adapted to be moved toward said tube by said air pressure, one of said members being provided with an air passage for permitting air to pass the piston member and enter and move through powder forwardly of said piston whereby to blow powder through said tube.

2. A vaginal powder insufilator comprising a powder reservoir having associated at one end a source of air pressure and at the other end a forwardly projecting outlet tube, and a floating piston slidably disposed in said reservoir and adapted to be moved toward said tube by said air pressure the periphery of said piston being provided with a plurality of transverse grooves for permitting air to pass the piston and enter and move through powder forwardly of the piston whereby to blow powder through said tube.

3. A vaginal powder insufilator comprising a powder reservoir member having associated at one end a source of air pressure and at the other end a forwardly projecting outlet tube, a floating piston member slidably disposed in said reservoir and adapted to be moved toward said tube by said air pressure, one of said members being provided with an air pasage for permitting air to pass the piston member and enter and move through powder forwardly of said piston whereby to blow powder through said tube, and a distender member mounted on the free end of said tube for separating the walls of the vagina, said tube opening into the distender member.

4. A vaginal powder insufflator comprising a powder reservoir member having associated at one end a source of air pressure and at the other end a forwardly projecting outlet tube, a floating piston member slidably disposed in said reservoir and adapted to be moved toward said tube by said air pressure, one of said members being provided with an air passage for permitting air to pass the piston member and enter and move through powder forwardly of said piston whereby to blow powder through said tube, and a tubular member surrounding said tube and spaced therefrom, said tubular member having an opening at each end whereby a passage is formed between said tube and tubular member for the escape of air forced into the vagina by said source of air pressure.

5. A vaginal powder insufllator comprising a powder reservoir member having associated at one end a source of air pressure and at the other end a forwardly projecting outlet tube, a floating piston member slidably disposed in said reservoir and adapted to be moved toward said tube by said air pressure, one of said members being provided with an air passage for permitting air to pass the piston member and enter and move through powder forwardly of said piston whereby to blow powder through said tube, a cage-like member for distending the walls of the vagina, said wall-distending member having a base member at its rear end mounted on the free end of said tube, and a tubular member encircling said tube and spaced therefrom and extending from said reservoir member to said base member, the latter being provided with a restricted passage from the cage-like member into said tubular member, and said tubular member having an outlet opening adjacent the reservoir member, whereby air forced through the outlet tube into the vagina is permitted to escape therefrom through said base member and tubular member.

6. A vaginal powder insufilator comprising a powder reservoir member having associated at one end a source of air presure and at the other end a forwardly projecting outlet tube, a floating piston member slidably disposed in said reservoir and adapted to be moved toward said tube by said air pressure, one of said members being provided with an air passage for permitting air to pass the piston member and enter and move through powder forwardly of said piston whereby to blow powder through said tube, and a distender member mounted on the free. end of said tube for separating the walls of the vagina, said tube opening into the rear end of the distender member, the latter having openings through its sides and front end through which powder reaches the vaginal walls.

7. A vaginal powder insuffiator comprising a powder reservoir member having associated at,

one end a source of air pressure and at the other end a forwardly projecting outlet tube, a floating piston member slidably disposed in said reservoir and adapted to be moved toward said tube by said air pressure, one of said members being provided with an air passage for permitting air to pass the piston member and enter and move through powder forwardly of said piston whereby to blow powder through said tube, a cage-like member for distending the walls of the vagina, said wall-distending member having a base member at its rear end mounted on the free end of said tube and being provided with an open front end, and a tubular member encircling said tube and spaced therefrom and extending from said reservoir member to said base member, the latter being provided with a restricted passage from the cage-like member into said tubular member, and said tubular member having an outlet opening adjacent the reservoir member, whereby air forced through the outlet tube into the vagina is permitted to escape therefrom through said base member and tubular member.

8. A vaginal powder insufilator comprising a powder reservoir having associated at one end a source of air pressure and at the other end a forwardly projecting outlet tube, a floating piston slidably disposed in said reservoir and adapted to be moved toward said tube by said air pressure, the periphery of said piston being provided with a plurality of transverse grooves for permitting air to pass the piston and enter and move through powder forwardly of the piston whereby to blow powder through said tube, a distender member formed from a plurality of wires extending forwardly from said tube and being joined at their front ends to a wire ring and at their rear ends to a perforated base member mounted on the free end of said tube, and an enlarged tubular member encircling said tube and spaced therefrom and extending from said reservoir member to said base member, said tubular member having an outlet opening adjacent the reservoir member, whereby air forced through the outlet tube into the vagina is permitted to escape therefrom through said perforated base member and the tubular member.

CHARLES E. ZIEGLER. 

